Island Reunion
by Soomin
Summary: After sailing the Grand Line, the Strawhat pirates make their way back to the Blue Seas to finish mapping it out the world, collecting histories, creating medicines, flaunting the ship, boasting stories, and other dream making. Finding themselves in the East Blue, they all decided to head to a little island decorated with windmills.


"So this is your hometown Luffy?" Sanji asked as he took a drag from a cigarette. They were all surprised that such a small and peaceful place like this would be their captain's home. The people were pleasant and even greeted the strangers with bright smiles as they walked the streets reminding them all of the hospitality they received in Water 7. Luffy walked backwards, facing his crew as they walked around. Luffy oddly had hung his hat around his neck instead of wearing it on his head like normal. Sanji was sure that the others noticed their captain's odd behavior, but none of them said a word about it.

"Yup! Even though Grandpa protects it, we get pirates that stop by here all the time, so don't worry about be caught about that. Apparently it's good tourism or something like that," looking to his left and right with a large grin on his face, he sighed, "Maa, it hasn't changed a bit these last few years," Luffy commented.

"That's all fine and good, but Luffy, why did you make us bring so much money?" Nami asked, as she once again tugged on the bag over her shoulder to make sure that all of it was still in there. Their captain had made quite a scene that if they really were going to land here, they had to pay a visit to somewhere and begged Nami to bring a whole lot of treasure. Knowing that there was no winning with Luffy, the navigator agreed on the condition that she was the one carrying it around. Franky shifted from side to side as Nami glared at him the entire way to the village as she hugged the money close to her. Franky may be Nakama, but Nami does not let go of grudges easily.

Their captain didn't answer and simply kept walking backwards. He made small comments about how the streets were still dirty and how the fisherman's shack was still rundown. However, all of them noticed that Luffy had not said a single thing about the residents of the village. As talkative and charming their captain was, all of them had just assumed that Luffy would be one of the most popular kids here. However, not a single person came out of their home to great the new Pirate King at his hometown to congratulate him or even offer him a drink. It wasn't like Luffy being the pirate king was a surprise either. With the amount of times they were told he was going to be the pirate king, it would be impossible for the village people to not hear about Luffy's dream. However, the crew kept to themselves and humored their captain. No matter the reason, the crew would stick by Luffy and would only push if the situation demanded it.

After a few more minutes of walking, Luffy stopped finally stopped at a small little tavern known as the _Party's Bar_. It was small, but it smelled of alcohol, food, and a giant party waiting to be had.

"Alright! It's still here!" Luffy exclaimed and began rushing in.

"Wait Luffy! It's not open!" Usopp warned but was too late as Luffy ran in without any constraints.

"Makino!"

"Luffy?"

Immediately, Sanji's and Brook's heart fell. Only an angel with a heart of gold could have sound like that. Sanji took the initiative and walked in. His heart could only drop farther as he took in the sight of a young woman with soft green hair and beautiful round eyes. She smiled at him and then at the crew around him. Brook was immediately entranced by the smile. While the cook's and musician's eyes laid solely on the woman, the crew looked to their captain who, after giving the woman a tight hug, was wandering around the taverns as if walking through a memory: lightly, slowly, as if breathing would shatter the world around him.

It was almost odd seeing their captain acting so quietly and slowly. They were so used to his abrupt movements and explosive personality, that to see him like this combined with his odd actions earlier almost worried them. The lady saw their worried looks, and smiled even brighter than before.

"Hello! I'm Makino, and you must be Luffy's friends!" she introduced and proceeded to try to place names to their faces.

"Oh, so you have heard of us?" Robin asked, impressed that Makino was completely correct.

She nodded, and gestured over to the wall to the right that was decorated with a line of wanted posters. Some of them were old, others were very new, and in the center that looked separate from the rest were the newest Strawhat Pirates posters. Sanji smirked as he finally got that hideous poster of his redrawn. Chopper cheered as he was finally recognized as a fearsome pirate and wondered if he should write a letter to Doctorine stating such.

"I've been collecting them every since the first one came out. Sorry if that seemed a bit odd and seemingly knowing you guys off the bat," the tavern keeper apologized. "However, I've known Luffy ever since he was a little toddler. This is probably the closest I can get watching over him without actually being there."

Brook taking the initiative stepped forward and took her hand. "Ma'am, you have no reason to apologize, but if you wish to do something for us," Robin and Nami were just about to pounce when he asked, "May I see you panties?"

The skeleton toppled over as the two ladies slapped the skeleton for his rude behavior. Makino laughed and told everyone to sit down. She was just about to get lunch ready and did not mind making a few more meals for everyone. She placed a few bottles of sake on the bar table before walking into the kitchen to start cooking.

"Luffy, I'm making your favorite too!" Makino added and their captain's eyes lit up in nostalgia for the first time since landing here.

"Yay! Sanji's cooking is the best Makino, but I really missed your food too! Oi, Sanji, make sure you cook for Makino sometime, okay?" Looking over his crew, his eyes rested on Nami. His arm stretched over to reach for the bag, and threw it over to Makino. "Makino! I'm here to pay off my treasure tab too!"

Luffy ran into the kitchen to promptly pay what the crew assumed was Luffy's debt to this lady for taking care of him. In many ways, it was Luffy's promise to come back to Makino to pay it off, so even Nami didn't even mind that he was using their money even when they were pirates and had no debt to anyone. There was a crash in the kitchen and the sound of gold coins falling onto the floor. The crew breathed a collective sigh knowing what was happening back there and decided that it was best to get them situated. It could be a long time until lunch was ready with Luffy there. Sanji momentarily thought about dragging the boy so that he wouldn't get hurt, but he didn't have the heart to do so.

"Eh? I thought I saw a pirate ship land a little off from here," a gruff voice said as three goons entered the tavern. Zoro immediately didn't like the look of them, and Chopper could smell that these guys were drunk since last night.

"So, who do we have today then to bless our little East Blue Island? Sorry, but Windmill Village is a bit of a rut compared to the actual Goa City. Your captain must be either a real scumbag or an idiot to think he'll strike it rich here."

Had this not be Luffy's hometown, Zoro would have cut these three down immediately. After all, what use was being the greatest swordsman alive if just anyone could just tarnish his captain's name so freely?

Luckily, the voice of reason from Usopp stepped in before any lasting damage could be made.

"Hey now! We're all friends here, right? The bar's not open, but when it is, how about we buy you a round of drinks, eh?" At this point, the men's behavior especially with Usopp's offer of buying drinks was irritating even Nami, the calmest of them in these kinds of situations.

"Huh? Wait, I think I recognize you long nose," the man got uncomfortably close to the marksman to the point where Usopp could smell how many gallons of sake went down his throat.

"Why you're a Strawhat, aren't you?" the one on the left asked.

Immediately everyone went silent.

"Haha! I knew it. You guys are with Little Luffy, aren't you? So, how was it, the One Piece I mean?"

"That's a super secret bro," Franky answered, not liking how this guy was referring to his captain.

"Come on! Luffy and us were practically best buddies when we were younger. Isn't that right Affie?"

"Sure were!" Affie responded and sat down next to Brook who was shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "The boy couldn't swim if his life depended on it. It was great fun pushing the kid off the dock and then watching him hold onto the rope we tossed him for dear life. Jerome, remember when Luffy was talking about fighting monkeys in the forest?"

Jerome and Affied started laughing their heads off in the forest and saying something about bananas and fire. Whatever it was, it was enough to make the crew's blood begin to boil. However, this was strike two. The rules Nami regretfully had set in place were still unbroken.

"I would really recommend you stop talking about our captain like so," Robin advised, deciding that in order to avoid violence, they needed to stop immediately.

Brook, seeing the tension among the group, reached with a bony arm and grabbed a bottle of sake from the bar. "Here you are men. Let's all share a drink, it's on us." He figured the best way to get these men to leave is to give them what they wanted and push them out once they had it. As long as he was, no one was going to tarnish his captain's walk through memory lane.

"I like how you talk skeleton man!" the third unnamed man agreed and sat down across from him. Had they been sober, they probably would have realized that an actual skeleton was talking to them. However, being as drunk as they were, all three of them had decided to take a couple of drink from a very lithe man with extremely pale skin a voice that resembled the rock legend from the Grand Line: the Soul King.

Zoro still didn't like the look of these three and stood to the side next to the kitchen, unconsciously acting as a guard to not allow anyone near his captain. Sanji stood next to the window to take a smoke to calm him down before he did anything rash. Usopp, Nami, and Chopper took to examining the posters to at least get away from the idiots. Robin and Franky were the only ones to settle down so that Brook wouldn't have to entertain these idiots all alone.

"What, you're not going to drink?" Affie asked.

"Yohoho! I'm afraid not. It's much too early for that I'd say. Also, I don't have a stomach to drink with!" Brook responded. Even with his years alone, he'd never thought he would want to get away from such people as quickly as he wanted with these three.

"Haha! That was how old Thomas was before we got him addicted to the stuff! Ain't that right Thomas?" the third one nodded, though his head was clearly somewhere else.

"So, how do you know our captain then," Robin inquired.

"Eh? Luffy? Psh, not sure why you follow him lady. I mean, the kid is a complete and utter loser when he was younger. Hell, I'm pretty sure those marines can't do their math if his bounty is that high now."

"Well, he is the pirate king," Robin reasoned, trying to keep a civil smile. Franky couldn't keep a straight face and nearly growled, "Yeah. He's a super captain and fought a whole bunch of baddies to get that title," then in a mutter, "he could kick your asses in less than two seconds."

"And that's another thing!" Affie added as he took another swing of the bottle. "Just how the hell did he become the pirate king? He was so weak! He couldn't even beat a few monkeys from the jungle. That's why his crew is full of monsters! They crashed into Enies Lobby just fine, but Impel Down by himself, and he couldn't even save his own brother."

They heard glass shatter from the kitchen, and that was all the crew needed to act.

Both Zoro and Sanji held Affie at lethal point with shoes and swords. Usopp, Franky, and Brook were glaring down at Jerome with guns and even more swords. Thomas was two seconds away from being choked by disembodied hands, rammed through by antlers, and shocked by a seemingly random lightning storm within the bar. Had they been noble pirates, they would have been dead. Unfortunately, the Strawhats were no noble pirates, but these goons were hardly worth the effort. Zoro, being the first mate, gave out the ultimatum.

"Now you see here," Zoro began, not allowing his sword to leave its spot on Affie's neck. "We promised ourselves to behave on this little island since it's our captain's hometown and all. However, there is no such thing as a home with people like you on it. If you guys think that we're too nice to let a few innocents die for the sake of our captain to keep his home safe for him, think again." The swordsman paused to look over to the closed door of the kitchen. There was silence, something he never wished to hear with his captain in such close proximity.

"You can thank my captain for me not killing you right here and now. There are two rules on our ship: be free and, after those two years apart from him, protect the captain. You better not let me see you three ever again, or you'll see why we're the crew of the pirate king."

Somehow, Zoro's words got through the men's drunken haze and the second the crew let go, the men ran off screaming about the demons the pirate king had on his ship. For a second, the crew took in the sight of having grown men screaming their name in terror. The moment was lost though when the silence continued in the bar.

The first mate ran into the kitchen to check on their captain. A single dish was splattered everywhere with meat, gravy, peas, and potatoes littering themselves on the floor. Makino was also on the ground holding something as if she was mourning over its loss.

"Luffy," Zoro said, but knew he words weren't heard. It wasn't until the rest of the crew came in did the captain seem tor realize where he was.

"S-S-Sanji. I'm sorry about wasting food," Luffy cried out, his tears stuttering his speech.

"Dumb captain," Sanji sighed, not having the heart to use his usual insult. "I'm sure there's a dog around here who would be happy to eat it or something." Luffy seemed to like that answer and sniffed back his tears.

"Come on captain. Little fresh air should do you some good," Usopp suggested as he brought up his captain to his feet. Luffy didn't say anything and just allowed himself to be dragged around by his crewmate. Brook tried out his best skull jokes, and Franky showed off his newest addition to himself to try and cheer up their captain. Chopper even brought out his chopsticks to goof off with Luffy with hopes of bringing him out of this stump.

The remaining crewmembers stood around the broken dishware as their voices died in the silence. The four of them seemed to have a talent in brining Luffy out of his mood and into a healthier one, and the rest of the Strawhats took a breath in relief. It had been a while since Luffy had an attack like that, but at least he wasn't alone.

"Thank you," Makino said once Luffy was out the door. The crew looked to the barkeeper with curious eyes.

"Luffy has always been alone on this island. Even before eating the devil fruit, a lot of the islanders had always tried to keep their kids away from Luffy since he was Dragon's son and Garp-san's grandson. Some of his closest friends were just some elderly people who pitied him, but he never had friends like you before," she paused to wife away her tears, "I'm so glad that he found people like you."

Makino had always worried that Luffy might not be able to find the crew he always dreamed of. The boy was so fragile, and once Ace left to go on his own adventure, Luffy hardly made his way back to the village anymore. He never had much experience making friends, so she constantly worried about his crew betraying him with that trusting nature of his. Not only would the mutiny result in him being hurt, but little Luffy would be devastated if that happened.

However, leave it to Luffy to make the most loyal crew she has seen in years of hosting a pirate bar. And judging by the looks of each one of the crewmates eyes as their gaze returned to the doors Luffy left through, she knew she wasn't wrong.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Thank you for reading!**

 **One of the little things that I love about One Piece is just how charismatic Luffy is. I mean, he won the crew with his charm (and other things). I mean, he is very selfish, but he's so childish that you can't help but believe what he says is true. However, I always thought it was weird that he didn't really have any friends other than Makino in his hometown, even before the Devil Fruit. I thought he would be like Usopp where all the kids would want to go on adventures with him. This is just one of my headcanons I decided to make a fic about.**

 **One thing I have learned through writing this fic is how to handle large crowds of people in one scene. Golly, I did not think herding 10 people in a scene would be this hard.**


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